


We're All A Little Broken

by sansatheskeleton



Category: Undertale
Genre: Bad Puns, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Platonic Relationships, Some angst, so many puns, will add more tags as story progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 09:22:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7262221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sansatheskeleton/pseuds/sansatheskeleton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are in the wrong place at the wrong time.  You can't remember who you are, even though the rest of your memory is intact.  Will a small, equally frustrated skeleton help you figure out who you are?  Only time and really poorly written fanfiction will tell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mother, Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've fallen and you can't get up, but the help you receive isn't the help you need. Maybe it's the help you deserve. You can't quite grasp how you got here.

It was yellow. Bright yellow, neon yellow, harsh enough to burn the color into your retinas. _Jesus. What the hell?_ Stumbling out of the patch, you fumbled your way awkwardly around the open passageway. Seeing the brightness leave as you turned, you opened your eyes cautiously. “Okay, get your bearings. Where even am I?” You asked aloud. You don't remember coming here. You don't remember anything before this, even. You're starting to seriously freak out when you hear something call out to you.

“Howdy!” A high-pitched voice said. Looking around you saw nothing, so…where did it come from? “Down here!” Looking down, that burning yellow was back in your field of vision. It wasn’t as terrible to look at the flower, but it was still pretty bright. “What's your name? I hate to interrupt your conversation, but you’re in the Underground!” A talking flower? A talking…flower. A talking flower.

“Oh, thanks!” You smiled politely, keeping a hand over your eyes. This was quite the drug trip. You had some difficulty, your head hurt super bad. You must've hit it. Your name...your name...what was it? You couldn't remember and it scared the living daylights out of you. You could remember a stupid infomercial about phones but you couldn't remember your own name? “I don't really give my name out, sorry. So, uh, what is the Underground again?” It seemed pretty self-explanatory, but you had to know for sure. You’d literally just been up at the peak of Mt. Ebott – it wouldn’t make sense that you were underground. Like, at all. Flowey briefly turned to the side, and you thought you caught the hint of a smirk across his face.

“It’s alright, friend! The underground is underneath Mt. Ebott! It's the home of all monsterkind! Really, though, they’re not all that interesting once you know all of them for a few millennia. I’m more interested in where you’re hiding Frisk!” Flowey absolutely beamed, smile never faltering for a second. What an adorable little flower, suspicions aside. He reminded you of those mechanical flowers that bounced when you set them in the sun. Maybe you’d keep him in a pot when you found the stairs out of here.

“Frisk?” You asked, confused. “As in the cat food? I gotta be honest, I don’t really know a lot of Frisks out there.” Flowey paused in the middle of his dance, frowning.

“You’re sure you don’t know?” He almost sounded worried. “I caught you with my magic, I thought I caught them, too...” He trailed off, burying himself in the ground without any warning. The ground didn’t even look disturbed when he returned. Something wrapped around your feet slowly, causing you to try and back up. Hopefully it wasn’t snakes. The coils wrapped tighter, thorns poking into your calves. Looking down in horror, you saw that vines were encasing you painfully.

“Flowey, help me out!” You shouted in fear, struggling. “Weren’t you the one that saved me or whatever?” Wasn’t he supposed to be nice or something? You couldn’t remember due to the pain. It was blinding as the vines lashed themselves around your struggling wrists. Maybe it was like Devil’s Snare from Harry Potter. If you just let go and relaxed, it’d be okay. Good thing you could remember useless shit instead of how you got yourself into this.

“But you’ve missed the point! Friends are supposed to share things! Toys, games, food, especially the important things, like souls!” Maybe it was the lack of oxygen, but his face seemed really entirely too creepy for your taste. He started laughing maniacally, cutting off your air supply. A flash of something bright and hot blew back your short hair and you distantly heard a scream pierce the air. Was it him or you? Your vision cut out, and you landed in something plushy; it was what you expected clouds to feel like. 

**********************************************************************************  
You woke up in a massive bed. It was probably the biggest bed you'd ever been in. Was this what is was like to be a millionaire? You sure didn’t feel like a million bucks, that was for sure. You tried to sit up, but something soft gently pushed you back down.

“My child, you must rest. You have been through so much today,” a soothing voice reassured you. You couldn’t quite process the thing that had spoken to you though. She was tall with pristine snowy fur, brown eyes kindly twinkling in a motherly fashion. You were hallucinating.

“I think I might’ve had a bit too much rest, doctor. I was attacked and you look like a…a…honestly, a monster of a goat.” You stammered, sweat gathering on your hands and face. Suddenly, she burst out into laughter. She doubled over and clutched her sides in mirth. “What?” Ugh, God, you sounded crazy! She was laughing because you were crazy, you were going to a mental hospital. At least you left out a lot of the killer flower incident.

“Oh, little one, I have not heard a joke quite of that caliber in some time!” Anxiety started on your face, you couldn’t stop it. Once your face got in motion apparently it was an open book. Hopefully it was a good book. Eventually the she-goat composed herself, only chortling here and there. “I do not mean to laugh at you. A human has not fallen here in a long time, I should not expect your kind to remember ours.”

“Wait, what?” Her expression softened to one of sympathy. She wasn’t kidding, you could tell. No remorse or joke held in her eyes, despite how she had first laughed at you. You thought back to what that Flowey had said. Would she expect something back from you for her hospitality? “What’s your name? How did I get here? Do you have any aspirin?” You couldn’t stop blurting at this point, it was so embarrassing…

“I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. I assisted you in escaping that terrible creature that preys on the weak,” she frowned. “I pass through every day to see if someone has fallen. You are by far the most grown of humans to fall, but no amount of mental fortitude could have adequately prepared you for that shock. For that, I apologize. I also am not familiar with aspirin, although you should eat. It will heal your soul.”

“So when people say soul-food…they actually mean soul healing food? And also, what’s this soul you speak of?” You laughed quietly to yourself. It wasn’t the weirdest thing that had happened to you today, so it probably had some element of truth to it. You wondered if you could see it. Toriel didn’t look impressed by your dark comment.

“Of course you have a soul! Never let others inform you differently. I will go and fetch the pies. I was not sure if you preferred cinnamon or butterscotch, so I made one of each,” she beamed, walking out of the room. What a sweet lady. You were going to have to repay her somehow. If some random stranger had fallen into your house, you probably would not have let them sleep inside and made them pies. But then again, you weren’t a ginormous goat lady.

She returned a few seconds later with the two biggest slices of anything you’d ever had before. At least, you thought so. “These look awesome, Toriel! Thanks so much!” You dug in a huge forkful and stuffed it in your face. Food now, grace later. It was the most delicious slice of cinnamon pie you’d ever had. Toriel ate the other slice of butterscotch, smiling delicately and eating more so. It was like what you’d have expected to see at an ice cream social. You shuddered at the thought. You tried to suppress it as much as you could, but it did not go unnoticed by her.

“Are you in any pain? I healed your physical ailments to the best of my ability,” she worried, lightly pressing her large paw against your arm as if checking for any missed scrapes. It was sweet, but you seriously had to get home. Wherever home was.

“No, I just had a weird thought. I have to be real with you. I seriously can’t remember where I’m from. I appreciate the hospitality, but is there any possible way you could point me in the general direction I came from?” Her face contorted in both distaste and worry.

“I am afraid I cannot point you in any direction but up. I insist you stay and recover, though. You are in grave danger down here. If I let you go, they…Asgore…will kill you. Perhaps if you let your mind relax you will overcome the events of today,” she frowned. Well shit. Not only could you not remember, but now you got other monsters trying to kill you. Could it be worse than Flowey? Probably not. She was seriously worried though, so it probably was worse than him.

“How about I cut you a deal. I’m sure you’re not the only other good person down here. Can you tell me where other people are that I can escape to the surface with are?” She took your cleaned plate. Somehow, she was right. The pie’s warmth coursed through your body, easing the aches it still retained.

“…I will consider it. For now, you must rest. The full effect of your healing will not take place unless you pair it with a good night’s rest. Goodnight.” She smiled, flicking off the lights and closing the door behind her. As soon as she left, you let out a sigh you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. She was so nice, but you were so afraid she’d ask for something in return, where you literally had nothing but the clothes on your back. Barely even those. Your once tee-shirt had singed sleeves and huge gashes through it, and it had done much better than your skinny jeans. At least you didn’t seem to be injured anymore, though. You were just going to have to rock the metal aspect of life for a while. Leaning back, you closed your eyes and listened to the soft music playing throughout the house. It was peaceful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aghh! First fanfiction ever, I bet you guys can tell. I really love Undertale and the genius that is Toby Fox, so please support both! I'm doing song titles for each chapter, too - this first one is Mother, Mother by Tracy Bonham. Check her out! Let me know what you think of it so far, sorry for all the plot in this first chapter. I promise it'll be worthwhile. (Aaron level wink)


	2. To Build A Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You poke where you shouldn't and learn some things. You also get into your first real rumble in the Underground (because the first rumble was a dirty trick.)

You woke up feeling refreshed, hearing laughter echoing throughout the house. It took you a moment to register where you were again – it was unnerving waking up somewhere you didn’t live. Sitting up and stretching, you felt your muscles twitch from disuse. You threw off the borrowed plushy comforter and padded to the end of the room. Music still played from somewhere. _Huh._ You thought you’d imagined it before, but it was definitely there. You could go ask Toriel, but she’d probably deflect your questions in lieu of her own. 

Quietly you opened the door. At least it didn’t creak too much like they did in those jumpscarey horror movies. You checked both ends of the hallway before peeking the rest of your body out. The music was louder out here, but not by a whole lot. You crept along the brightly lit hallway like nobody could’ve spotted you if they simply looked at the wall. It put you on both the edge of fear and of blowing your cover by laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. 

Reaching the end of the hall, you came to the last door, where it echoed the loudest. There was a sign written in a thin, elegant hand informing you of its construction. Since when was Toriel a construction worker? She seemed pretty alone out here. You opened the door and closed it behind you, just in case. 

A somehow larger bed than you’d slept in fit into the room. It was a fairly spacious room, but covered in dust – old photos of…Toriel? Did she have a guest room for family members or something? A collection of cute little cups were collecting their fair share of dust on a wooden shelf. They looked to be hand-painted designs of little white hearts on the varying background colors. Why would anyone ever let these go? They were literally the most awesome thing you’d ever seen! You continued poking around, finding a few dusty scrapbooks here and old toys there. The only thing that didn’t seem dusty was a pile of unopened letters addressed to “Tori.” You started to sense a theme here.  
You still couldn’t pinpoint the source of the music until you peeked underneath the bed and pulled out a small wooden box. It was trimmed in a flashing gold, with four figures in the center. They all looked like Toriel except one. For some reason, it was oddly touching. A small flame flickered at the base of the figurines, illuminating the key that turned continued to turn without you winding it. Something was engraved in it, but you couldn’t quite make out the words. 

“You are lost, are you not?” a tight voice asked behind you. You scrambled to set it down carefully, but she’d already spotted it in your hands. “Come. It is much too dusty for us to chat in this place.” She held out her paw and you took it, to your surprise. She was pretty caring, your body just reacted naturally, you reasoned. _Or,_ a voice sneered, _you just want a chance to have someone else deal with the hard questions._

She led you to the living room and sat in her chair by the cozy fire. It was both comforting and intimidating – the way she looked at you sent shocks of sadness through you, though. “If you were feeling better, you should have fetched me. I would have made you breakfast,” she started carefully. 

“I was curious. I’m so sorry, I just thought I’d imagined something, and you sounded busy with something so I didn’t want to bother you,” you stammered, trying not to get yourself thrown out of the house. She was seriously angry with you, wasn’t she? You had one friend and you burned her by poking around where you shouldn’t have.

“It is alright, young one. You just startled me,” she shook her head, sighing.

“What’s that whole thing about? With the cute little cups and the bed and the-”

“-and the music box?” she interrupted a little sharply. “Many of those possessions are from my late husband, Asgore.” You sucked in a breath.

“So I’m going to guess he’s either dead or he’s an ‘unfriendly,’” you remarked lightly, trying to ease a little of the age out of her face. “I remember you mentioned him yesterday.”

“He is a terrible creature, preying on children. That is why you must stay here. The other things belonged to my children,” she said, strained. “The box has a charm on it to keep playing. It used to help him sleep. It is almost enough to help me sleep at night as well.” She turned away, tearing away your gaze from her. Aw jeez. That is awful. You barely knew her and she was already breaking your heart. No wonder she feels like she has to mother you. She probably feels responsible for whatever happened.

“Is there anything I can do?” you asked, setting your hand on her arm. A glimmer of tears shone in her eyes as she met yours with a smile.

“No, that is what I should be asking you. I appreciate your concern, but there is a reason why I must keep those memories locked away from my sight,” she replied bitterly. “Please refrain from asking any more questions about that room. I do not believe I can answer any more at this time.” You nodded.

“I have to be going, Toriel,” you tried gently. She bowed her head as if she’d seen this coming for a long time.

“I cannot allow that. I have seen it many times before. They come. They leave. They die,” she narrowed her eyes. “I have sent off too many children to never see them again. You are not going to be another.” Shocker. You _never_ should have expected such a protective nature from her. High five, self.

“I can’t help it. I can’t just stay here forever not knowing who I am and asking you to baby me. It’s not fair to either of us and you know it,” you argued. Her face was set in stone, though. You weren’t getting through to her at all. Ages of sorrow and seclusion would do that to a person, you guessed.

“Excuse me. I have some business to attend to,” she said hurriedly, rushing out of the room. Wow, she moved fast, way faster than you ever would have expected from any goat monster, especially as soft and cuddly as she was. You raced after her, taking down the stairs two at a time until inevitably tripping and falling the rest of the way. Standing back up with a twisted ankle, you kept limping down the long purple hallway after her. She was out of sight at this point.

Coming to the end of the hallway, you came to regard a massive door. It was something you’d really only seen in the movies with medieval castles – these kinds of doors were seriously impractical. Toriel stood guarding it, a ball of fire dancing wickedly around her palm. “Oh come on! Please don’t fight me! I just want to figure out my damn name!”

“I am going to destroy the exit. That way, no one will leave these ruins again. No other innocent will perish at the hands of my people,” she stated calmly. It was almost more to herself than you at this point.

“I’m going through that door.”

“You will die out there.”

“I’m healed now,” you gestured to yourself, trying not to wince at the shift of weight on your ankle.

“Go to your room,” she sighed. “I will not tell you again.”

“That’s just not going to happen.”

“Then prove to me you are strong enough.” The room’s lights dropped out and left you in pitch blackness. All you could see was Toriel’s fiery figure. Suddenly, you felt as if your heart was trying to burst from your ribcage. Stars flew in front of your eyes as you were filled with a sudden emptiness. As you blinked a couple of times, you saw a small, floating heart the size of your palm hovering in front of you. It was a beautiful silver, shiny like chrome. Toriel did a double take at the sight, but regained her resolve quickly.

She hurled a wall of flames at you and you jumped to the side, only your pants suffering yet again. You really should have just cut off the legs at this point and made them shorts. She threw fireball after fireball, eventually hitting you in the side and the arm, burning you magnificently. It’s like she fixed you up to beat the shit out of you. Why was this allowed but you couldn’t just leave?

You wouldn’t fight her. Not if it killed you, which it very much could at this point. Eventually she started to grasp this concept of friends not killing their friends. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I need to know the truth,” you shouted. “I need to make my own decision! I’m not some kid!” She put down her hands and the flames flickered out.

“You could be happy here. I could give you a new home. A new name. You do not _have_ to be the person you were falling down to this place!” she pleaded desperately. “If you go out there, you may very well die, even with a soul as extraordinary as yours.” You shook your head. Her face crumpled in disappointment. The blackness subsided, leaving her crushing you in a hug in full light. She let go after a minute or two, allowing your soul to settle rightfully back into your chest. She watched thoughtfully, never keeping her eyes off of the place it disappeared. “I understand that you must go, as much as I dislike your decision. You are correct – you are not a child. I should not hold the pretense that I make all of the decisions for you. I just ask that when you leave, you do not return. I do not think I can handle any more reminders of what I have done by letting you go.” On that note, she left you. No healing, no words of encouragement, no nothing from the little anything you’d grown to expect from her.

You turned to the exit of the Ruins, pushing open the door. You felt bad for leaving her, but in a way she also left you. It almost made you closer with Asgore than her, you thought sadly. A blast of chilly air hit your face as you closed the door behind you. Snow crunched beneath your bare feet. Your ankle throbbed painfully and your burns hurt like hell.

_This was going to be great. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! Chapter 2, woohoo! Today's song is To Build A Home by The Cinematic Orchestra. Super sad, kinda like what happened with Tori's room. Expect the joys of Snowdin tomorrow (or even later today maybe!) Again, let me know what you guys all think, I always appreciate input!


	3. Bittersweet Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow, spooks, and skelepuns. Need I say more?

You sprinted across the snow, freezing your ass off in the process. “Ow ow ow ow ow,” you shrieked through the forest. It might have been pretty under different circumstances, with the trees towering over you and the snow falling gently in big puffs. How did this even work, anyway…? In the middle of your thoughts, of course you tripped over a huge branch. Picking yourself back up and brushing off some of the snow from your face, you kept running. Even though your ankle throbbed every time you landed on it, you didn’t care. Flowey was probably right. Even Toriel was concerned. 

A large crack resounded throughout the silent forest. And you were somehow moving faster than you had before. You were going to get killed if you didn’t carry your sorry carapace right up out of this place. A shadow moved behind you. You didn’t know how you saw it but you did. You spotted some kind of gate up ahead. Maybe it was like some kind of spirit gate and this thing couldn’t get through. You held on to that hope as you rapidly approached it. Right as you were about to pass through it, a voice deeper than the depths of hell spoke. 

“ _H u m a n. D o n ‘ t y o u k n o w h o w t o g r e e t a n e w p a l? T u r n a r o u n d a n d s h a k e m y h a n d_ ,” it said. Squeezing your eyes shut, you turned around slowly and extended your hand, closing it around something rubbery and warm. Suddenly, a loud farting noise sounded, causing you to open your eyes in shock. You came face to face with a _skeleton_. You screamed and couldn’t stop screaming, the anticipation of your impending death was just too much. His eyesockets widened in equal shock and he lost the grin on his face. “i’m sorry, kid, i didn’t mean to scare you, honest. it was supposed to be funny…” You were sobbing, curling up in on yourself in the snow. He reached out to touch you, but seemed to think better of it. “you’re gonna freeze out here if you don’t let me take care of you,” he said gently. You were so cold, and this just pushed you off the edge of the cliff. At least now your mind and your body were in the same Underground. You nodded, and he offered you a hand. You took it, shaking your strawberry blonde hair out of your face. 

“You’re a skeleton,” you said flatly. What else was there to say? Something inside of you had broken. You just couldn’t question things anymore. 

“yep. the name’s sans. sans the skeleton,” he replied, finding his grin again and winking. “ _tibia_ honest kid, you really had me scared there.” He stuffed his hands back in his blue hoodie. Now that you got a better look at him, he didn’t seem frightening at all. He had white dots for eyes, and he was a little shorter than you. For how cold it was, you were surprised at his basketball shorts and pink slippers. He looked at you expectantly and you realized he must’ve been waiting for you. “welp, they can’t all be winners,” he said a little sadly. 

“Sorry Sans. I was trying to think of a good response, but I’m just too _marrow-minded!_ ” You hesitantly giggled. He snorted, covering his face with his hand. 

“oh my god that’s hilarious,” he said, stifling more laughter. It reminded you of yourself. You didn’t really like to laugh in front of other people, at least not a whole lot. “but you’ve messed with the wrong skeleton. i can tell these jokes _ulna-ght_.” You fought back a smile valiantly, but lost in the end.

“I’m sorry I screamed at you,” you apologized. He really did seem like a nice person. Even if he was inside-out (you still had no idea how this whole magic thing worked) he wasn’t bad-looking. You’d expected him to be all decrepit and gross if the future you had told the current you that your next friend would be a skeleton. “That was super mean of me. I’ve never even seen a skeleton before. I didn’t know they could be so nice!” 

“s’ok. i may have been a little at fault there too, sometimes i really am a _bonehead_ ,” he grinned. You chuckled to yourself at his joke, making him shine a little brighter. “c’mon. let’s get you out of the cold before you lose your _nerve_.” He started walking ahead of you. For such a short guy, he moved really quickly. Your burns were worse than you’d thought. For being so sweet, Toriel sure packed a punch.

“Sans! Can you please wait up a second?” Maybe he didn’t hear you, he kept moving on ahead. You leaned up against a tree. You started to feel a little bit dizzy, actually. You needed some rest. Sans was at your side faster than you remember him moving before, working quickly. You started to see stars. Closing your eyes felt better. Vaguely you heard him swearing before passing out entirely. 

***************************

Sans set you down gently in the snow. He put his fingers on your neck, which was surprisingly cold. There was a pulse, at least. God, he knew something was wrong, but he’d just blown it off after you had that shock. He didn’t want touching you to make it any more difficult for your adjustment. _Not like we’re getting out of here anytime soon,_ he thought bitterly. Examining your body, he decided against taking you anywhere but home. Alphys didn’t know enough about real humans to be able to help you. All she did anymore was watch anime. He pulled off his hoodie and tied it around his waist. He didn't know how much you were bleeding, but there was definitely something. Papyrus could get blood out of his clothes, but then he’d have to explain how it got there in the first place. At least he had a white shirt on underneath of it. He groaned at the imminent lecture.

Picking you up, he started teleporting through the woods. As much as he thought back fondly to the jokes you two had made, he couldn't help but realize that he'd never thought to ask your name. You'd been the first truly different thing in a decade, and yet he hadn't cared. He couldn't care at all anymore. Frisk had promised him not to reset after the last time. He'd lived with Papyrus on the surface for a couple of months, the longest they'd ever gone; then he woke up in Snowdin with his brother tugging on his comforter to try and wake him up. He would have words with the kid when he got his hands on them. Hiding behind something new wouldn't save them from that reckoning. But for now, he'd try and focus on something that had made him laugh without force in the longest time. It felt like the echo of something he once enjoyed. They hadn't killed Toriel. He'd listened to her wish them farewell. It didn't exactly prove anything, but it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took a little longer to upload! I was just not feeling it for a while there! It's a bit of a shorter chapter for today, but that's because there will be more! (Hopefully soon) This chapter's song is "Bittersweet Me" by REM. The link is below!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUb1lYeaC4Q
> 
> Let me know what you think so far! Enjoy!


	4. Doctor's Orders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get a sneak peek at Sans' lab, and cut a deal with your savior.

Sans set you down on the table in his lab, exhausted. He hasn’t teleported like that since…no. Not right now. Red already covered the front of his shirt. He ran a hand over his skull nervously. That much blood coming through clothing was generally not a good sign. What the hell happened? Taking a nearby scalpel, he cut a line down the tatters of your clothing. _Sans, you must pay attention! This could help a monster one day. Be sure to soak the clothing before removing it as to not damage the individual any further._ He teleported upstairs and brought back a pot of water and a dishtowel, dampening you before removing anything. 

He hesitated. You probably wouldn’t approve. Well, you were dying. Shrugging, he started removing your clothes. This was for science. He tried not to gasp, but it was the theatrically appropriate moment. There were burns, he saw those – but there were dark purple bruises of vines around your arms and torso. Something dark was wedged in your side, something foreign. Without any hesitation he carefully extracted it from beneath your skin. 

“you should just leaf these kinds of things alone, kid,” he murmured. “these things’ll have you pushing up daisies.” Holding up the thorn, he squeezed it slightly. Some clear liquid came out of it. Not good. Tori had fixed you up, it looked like. Flowey hit hard, he knew that from experience. Healing magic wasn’t without its own cons, though. Little things like this would be easily missed, absorbing them back into the skin. She probably just dismissed it as a darker freckle, he sighed. This is why Alphys kept trying to recruit him for the medical field. He never would have missed anything like this. 

He pulled off the curtain on his machine and stepped inside of it. Stepping over the more important scrapbooks and notes, he opened the small fridge full of needles. Hovering over them, he pulled one out. _I still don’t know what kind of toxin it is,_ he thought. _I need Alphys._ But she would tell Undyne, no matter how skilled she was at toxicology. Not an option, he sighed. “dammit, kid, i’ve known you for about five minutes and we’re already running out of time together,” he laughed at himself halfheartedly. You wheezed on the table. Hooking up the needle to a bag, he started seriously sweating. Was your soul too weak for this? He couldn’t see it like he could others. It was probably because it was so very close to shattering, he reasoned with himself. This better work. Puncturing your arm, he started drawing blood.

Carefully he cleaned the burns and bandaged them. He couldn’t do healing magic like Tori. You were straight out of luck on that – you’d just have to heal regularly, which meant he was keeping a close eye on you. This also meant his patient couldn’t get cold. He teleported upstairs for a brief second and came back with a blanket. Hopefully you weren’t going to be too pissed off at him. It worried him more than he’d admitted to. He wanted – _no, needed_ – to know where you were from, why this was different. Why Papyrus hadn’t busted down the door with Frisk in tow, either on a “date” or locked up in the unlocked garage. And so he waited, keeping a cool cloth on your forehead to keep the fever down. 

*********************************************************************

You woke up groggily. God, just how many times was this going to happen? You were cold and you felt tight around your arm and chest. Moving experimentally was a bad idea. You were so heavy. At least you were somewhere with actual medical equipment this time. Lolling your head to the side, you spotted Sans setting down something dark red on the floor. 

“Sssssssanssss,” you groaned. It felt like your mouth was stuffed full of cotton. He immediately rushed over, covered in blood. He could have just murdered somebody from the amount of it.

“shhh, kiddo. you gotta save your strength. i think you’ve had your chloro _phyll_ of plants today, same as me,” he said, gently setting a hand on your shoulder. It was surprisingly warm, especially on your bare skin. You giggled, from actual humor or blood loss you weren’t sure. Realizing you only had a blanket between the two of you, you started reddening. He let go and turned away, but not in time to hide the light blue dusting over his own cheekbones. That was actually pretty cute. 

“You can’t tell me what to do,” you slurred a little. He faced you again and raised a brow bone. How could he even do that? _Although a better question is how he's walking without muscles, you dork._

“listen, kid. i’m the doc here, alright?” he picked up a clipboard and tapped it knowingly. “look, i even got official notes on you and everything.” He handed it to you. You stretched out your arm painfully to take it. Sans saw you wince and started reading it to you instead of let you stretch out too far. He was right, they were pretty official sounding notes. He was a pretty good doctor to you, so you let him have the chance to tell you what to do while he still could. 

“Okay,” you whined. “I get it. You’re a doctor. Thanks for saving my life, I seriously appreciate that.” 

“nah, i’m not a doctor. i just happen to have experience in some medical techniques is all,” he shrugged. You could feel your eyes widen. No, he had to be a doctor, right? _Right?_ Amusement shone in his eyes as he watched the struggle to wrap your mind around it. “so with me not being a doctor, i’m not really confined to the same fields they are. are you familiar with souls?”

“I’m shady on it. Toriel said I had one, but I don’t really think I do,” you stared pointedly at the ceiling. “I’m not calling it bullshit, it’s just that everyone seems to be put off by mine.” Sans’ gaze bored into your soul. It was intimidating to say the least. 

“what color is it?” he asked immediately. Something shone in his eyes, something dangerous. You made a mental note never to mess with this guy. 

“It’s a really shiny silver.” That battle was awful. Hopefully Toriel didn’t feel bad about it, even though she was in the wrong. She cared so much for you. 

“that can’t be right,” he shook his head. “are you sure?” 

“Wait, no, I think you’re right. It’s most definitely purple,” you rolled your eyes, snorting. Or maybe it was more of an off-shade of black, you laughed internally. Why did you even leave yourself internal notes if you never even heeded them? 

“hey, the sarcasm isn’t appreciated, pal. i’ve never even heard of a soul that color before,” he mused. The only souls he’s ever seen or read about were pretty ROYGBIV. He filed that away for a late night. Rest assured, there would be one. 

“Why don’t you pull it out and take a look for yourself?” You asked. It’s not like you cared. 

“your soul’s your very culmination of your being,” he started, turning blue again. “so, erm, it’s either one of two things. a fight, or…” 

"Oh. _Oh._ I'm so sorry, I seriously didn't know. God I have a superpower for screwing customs up!" You railed against yourself, burning from embarrassment for the second time that day. 

“usually i’d know your name before i searched your soul, too,” he grinned. Was he poking fun at you? You sighed, closing your eyes to the room. “here, i’ll start. i’m sans. sans the skeleton. what’s your name, kid?” 

“Hey, I’m not a kid! And I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything before falling down here, man. That’s why I left The Ruins. There weren’t any hints as to who I am back there. That’s why I have to leave here soon,” you said solemnly. 

“i hate to interrupt your plan there, buddy, but you are absolutely bedridden,” he punctuated with a poke to your forehead. “doc’s orders.”

“You’re not even a real doctor!” You protested. “Look, I’m fine, see?” You tried getting off the table but you were still too heavy. Maybe part of this was because of Sans gently holding you down. 

“no. you’re right, i’m not a real doctor. your _needling_ isn’t helping your situation. you’re delirious from both stress and blood loss,” he said, keeping his hand on your still wiggling body. “you may have something up with your soul, so you’ll need to stay for dinner, at least.”

“Can’t I just go for a walk?” you pleaded with him. “I want to go outside.” You saw his resolve strengthen in his eyes. 

“you’ll also need some physical therapy for that arm. you haven’t been able to move it, have you?” You shook your head no. Ugh, you so did not want to be bedridden. “don’t worry. you won’t be in the bed for long, at least. just a day or two to fully recover. it’s your arm and ankle that really need recovering.”

“My ankle? Seriously, it’s just a twist!” you protested. 

“and it needs time to heal. you can’t just go on one leg through the underground. you might start out alright, but you won’t end up very _hoppy,_ ” he grinned in a victorious way. You laughed, causing his smile to stretch even wider. Damn, he got you again! Stupid bad sense of humor. 

“Fine. But just until I’m healed,” you frowned. At least he didn’t kill you. He absolutely could have while you were pretty much dead back there. 

“ok. well, let’s get you set up in my bedroom. it’s messy, but hey, it’s home,” he said, picking you up bridal style. You gave an undignified squeak and he paused, eyesockets widening. “are you in pain?” You shook your head, too embarrassed for words. You were such a weenie sometimes that even you were wowed by it. He looked at you with a mixture of understanding and something else you couldn’t quite pin down. Was he upset? “you’re nervous, aren’t you?”

“No, you just surprised me and I start randomly passing out and I can’t properly introduce myself to the person that saved my life,” you replied bitterly. What a fucking joke this whole day had been. Or was it night? You’d need a watch or at the very least a Time-Turner. Saying nothing, he started up the stairs relatively fast, pulling you up two flights in a few minutes. 

“you don’t have to lie to me, you know,” he said flatly. “if i make you nervous, just tell me. s’not every day you see something like me.” Was that what he thought? 

“Don’t be such a numbskull, Sans. I’m not uncomfortable at all,” you dodged. Of course you were nervous. He could tell and you knew it, but for some reason you didn’t really want to tell him. It would probably hurt his feelings. 

“whatever you say,” he closed his eyes. You could feel something close, even as he opened his door. The room was a little unkempt, but nothing that he suggested earlier. A few clothes here and there, a treadmill, some drawers, a made bed.

“It’s not bad at all, what are you talking about?” You laughed. “And, uh, could you possibly set me down? I feel bad already making you carry me up the stairs, I’m probably heavy.” Even though you were loving this warmth radiating off of him, he really didn’t have to carry you all that way. Jeez, you’d have to pay him back someday. 

“here you go,” he set you down on the bed carefully. “trust me, pal, it’s a real sty next to my bro’s room.” He untied his hoodie and laid it over you gently. “lemme get you some proper clothes. keep the hoodie. we don’t get cold like you do, so there aren’t a whole lot of blankets around the house.” You ran a hand over the fabric of it. It was soft and warm. That’s all you needed. 

“Hey, I don’t want to take your clothes. You need them to wear. Are there any shops down here?” Plus you weren’t sure how comfortable he was with lending you clothes. It wasn’t fair to be asking this much. 

“really, it’s no skin off my bones. here,” he tossed you a pair of his shorts and a plain black t-shirt. “do you need help, or do you want me to get out?” You bit back a smile as he scuffed his slippers in the carpet. You’d have to change the definition of monstrous when you got back to the surface. 

“I think I’ll be okay,” you grinned. “I just need to grow a backbone. Can I do anything to make your life easier?” He shrugged. 

“i’ll go break the good news to paps. he’s a little boisterous, but he’s a good guy. take it from me. you’ll love him.” He closed the door as he left, and you couldn’t help but smile after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY, so this update was really much later than I intended. Losing your wifi is like losing your whole life. I hope it never happens to any of you! Today's song is Doctor's Orders by Carol Douglas, because I thought it was time for a fun song. Enjoy, let me know what you think!


	5. You've Got a Friend In Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You borrow some clothes and get into a long, invested conversation with Sans. You know what? I think reader and him are gonna be friends. *Insert kazoo noises here*

Eventually you’d managed to shrug on the clothing. It was all so soft. Maybe he just really liked soft and loose stuff. You didn’t really blame him, you’d wear soft and loose all day if it was up to you. You’d have to do something about his wrecked shirt. Did he even change out of it? You cringed inwardly in sympathy for the poor guy. He was just going about his day and you got him soaked from your bloody clothes and cuts. You wouldn’t let the same thing happen to these. Reaching towards the end of the bed, you zipped up the hoodie over your skeleton shirt. It was so warm, even softer than the other clothes. It was like wearing a cloud. You buried your face in the fur of the hood. It smelled like the woods and a subtle cologne, along with something that faintly smelled of ketchup. It smelled _really_ good, weirdly enough. You laid back down on the bed, pulling the thin comforter over you. You hurt, but it wasn’t too bad. You’d just get a little bedrest and then be on your way. 

A knock came at the door. “Who’s there?” You called out, already having a pretty good idea of who it could be. You could practically feel the nostalgic, childlike humor leaking from the other side of the door.

“howie,” you heard from the other side. You groaned, earning a laugh from the other side of the door. “c’mon, throw me a bone here.” Good thing you didn’t try and fix his habits like a lot of people did with their friends. The only thing that might’ve been more unbreakable than those puns was Kimmy Schmidt. 

“Howie who?” You called out, playing along. Puns were the best, but knock-knock jokes were bottom line humor for you. You couldn’t quite recall why you hated them so much, but it stuck with you through falling down a damn mountain. They must’ve been awful, you smiled to yourself. 

“howie doing in here?” he asked. Aw jeez, he needed to stop worrying about you. You liked that someone worried about you, but you didn’t want to come on too strong. You literally just met this guy. 

“Alright. You can come in, I’m all dressed.” 

“ok,” he said, sliding the door open. The hinges creaked like they were straight out of a horror movie. He grimaced. “every time i open this door i feel like i’m about to be spooked.” You nodded emphatically. 

“I half expected the girl from The Ring to come inside instead of you,” you half-laughed. It was only funny because it was true. “Do you like scary movies?” He smirked and sat down on the edge of his bed. 

“i’m the king of horror. i’m the spookiest scariest skeleton i know,” he said, narrowing his eyes and gesturing to his ruined shirt. “speaking of which, i hope you don’t mind i barged in here. paps would flip his shit if he saw me like this. he gets scared pretty easy.” His brother sounded really nice. You couldn’t wait to meet him. If he was anything like Sans, you’d get along famously. 

“Well, we’ll have to have a movie night. I’m going to warn you though, I get scared really easy too,” you admitted. “Don’t expect me to be a stone cold killer like you.” He raised his brow bones at that incredulously. He was totally judging you. You busted out in laughter, causing him to stand up in surprise. “Oh my God, did I scare you?” You laughed even harder. Your chest was on fire but it didn’t matter. You glanced at his face through your tears and it cut off your laughter.

His smile was set in a hard line, the lights in his eyes dim. “Sans?” You touched his arm and he started a little bit, seeming to notice you were there again. He relaxed almost imperceptibly. If he had been wearing the hoodie you were borrowing right now, you wouldn’t have noticed it. You actually did scare him, and you’d laughed right in his face. 

He read the guilt all over your face and worry came over his own. “hey, no, it’s alright. i just keep getting stumped about your soul is all. you caught me right in the middle of a thought,” he gently patted your uninjured shoulder comfortingly. At least he wasn’t mad, but you were friends. Or at least you thought so. You weren’t sure what he thought of you. 

“Hey, um, can I ask you a question?” you kept a stiff upper lip so he couldn’t peek through your soul and see what you thought. (Unfortunately he seemed impossibly perceptive.) You had to know, the anxiety of the unknown started creeping up on you. 

“you just did,” he snarked. You rolled your eyes. “ok. shoot.” Here goes nothing, you braced yourself. 

“Are we friends? Or am I just some girl you saved and feel bad for?” you asked nervously, chewing the bottom of your lip. “Because if you’re doing this out of pity, as much as I appreciate it,-”

“is that what you think of me? that i’m just keeping you company out of pity?” he frowned deeply, interrupting your train of worry. “you got a lot to learn about me. i don’t roll that way. if you wanna be friends, sure. i thought we already might be.” You sighed in relief, and he wore an expression that screamed ‘seriously?’ at you. Monsters were so nice! If it could make that encounter with a homicidal flower even stranger than before, it did. 

“I’m glad,” you beamed. Sans simply shrugged and winked. “No, seriously! And now that means you have to play the question game with me.” He nodded in agreement, even though he was a little confused looking. “You want to start, or do you want me to start?” 

“ladies first,” he offered you a crooked grin, making you feel…something. You tried to sit up to meet his height, but he pushed you back down. “one, i’m rarely taller than anyone. and two, you are still resting.” It was silly, but you let him have it. Short people stuck together. 

“Fine,” you relented. “Favorite movie?” It was cheesy, but it got the snowball rolling. Plus he said he liked horror movies. Maybe he’d have a good sense of them overall. 

“anything star trek,” he mused. “not all of them are great, but it’s got a great premise.” You were more of a fantasy person, but sci-fi was cool too. Nah, nope, Lord of the Rings was definitely better. “how about you? got anything up your sleeve i haven’t seen?” 

“Probably not,” you muttered. He held back his mirth as best as he could, low chuckles rumbling in his ribcage. “Anything Lord of the Rings, because Peter Jackson is the best damn director ever.” 

“oh. my. god. i fucking love those movies!” he shouted, making you scream in excitement. You passed the next couple of hours figuring out what you each liked. You had the same favorite color – blue all the way. He liked playing board games with his brother on his down time. His best friend was teaching him how to cook for himself so that he didn’t have to abandon the house every time something was inedible. He insisted on you two having a movie marathon tomorrow night, and although you didn’t know how it was going to work with him not letting you out of bed, it sounded like fun. He only left you when he truly had to go change because his brother would come home soon from the extra training with his boss. 

It was only a little intimidating when he came back into the room with an absolutely massive skeleton in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, you know what they say...getting in the friend zone is one step closer to getting in the bone zone. (Which I'm actually considering writing if I get far enough along in the story.) This chapter's song is called "You've Got a Friend In Me" by Randy Newman, for obvious reasons in the chapter. I also really love this infamous Toy Story theme. Enjoy the chapter! More tonight because I'm leaving for vacation soon and will be MIA.


	6. Tighten Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus is a total sweetheart, Undyne scares you without even being present, and Sans scares the shit out of you.

“WOWIE! SANS, YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO ME! YOU CAPTURED A HUMAN ALL BY YOURSELF, I’M SO PROUD!” the tall skeleton shouted, picking up Sans and swinging him around in joy. You shrank into the covers of Sans’ bed. He was massive and loud and altogether terrifying. 

“sure, sure,” he smiled sleepily. “she’s a little sensitive though bro. be careful with her.” Holy shit, this was Papyrus? You realized too late that you’d said that out loud. Sans and Papyrus looked at each other and busted out in laughter. “i thought you might notice the family resemblance.” 

“Okay, I really thought you were all short. It was just a big surprise,” you smirked. “Papyrus is like a king to your fun-size.” Sans shook his head in disbelief and mock hurt. 

“and here i thought our friendship was _growing,_ but-”

“SANS, I HAVE TOLERATED MANY MORE OF YOUR PUNS TODAY THAN I NORMALLY ALLOW,” Papyrus crossed his arms, narrowing his eyesockets at the impeding punch line. Sans opened his mouth and Papyrus clamped one of his bright red gloves over it. “I AM SINCERELY SORRY THAT YOU HAVE HAD TO PUT UP WITH HIM ALL DAY.” You giggled at the whole scene. Sans wasn’t even struggling against Papyrus. It was probably useless anyway, he could chuck him a hundred yards if he wanted to. You wouldn’t struggle either. 

“ARE YOU READY TO BEHAVE?” Sans shrugged. “ALRIGHT. I BELIEVE IN YOU, SANS. RESIST THE PULL OF THE PUNS! DON’T LET THEM GET UNDER YOUR SKIN!” It took real effort not to laugh at that. Okay, Papyrus was good in your book. However loud he was, he didn’t seem to have any intention to hurt you. Toriel probably just hadn’t left The Ruins in a long time. Everyone you’d met was so nice. 

The second Papyrus let go of Sans he immediately said “-it seems more _stunted_ now.” You and Papyrus both groaned, and Sans shrugged and winked. “sorry bro. can’t help it.” Papyrus put his face in his gloves. 

“YOU WERE SO CLOSE! I COULD FEEL YOU WANTING TO GIVE UP ON IT!” he moaned, voice muffled behind his gloves. “YOU CANNOT BECOME A BETTER PERSON UNLESS YOU MOVE PAST THESE HURTLES!” Poor Papyrus. You sympathized with the guy. He couldn’t let on that he liked puns for fear that Sans might never stop. 

“Hey Papyrus?” you asked. He perked up, coming out of hiding and kneeling down by the bed.

“WHAT IS IT, HUMAN?” he asked brightly. “THERE IS NOTHING THAT THE GREAT PAPYRUS CANNOT ANSWER!” His scarf gave a dramatic flutter to punctuate his greatness. Wow, and there wasn’t even wind in the room. You were thoroughly impressed. 

“Is it true you can make spaghetti?” You wondered at him. He lit up like a firework on the fourth – sparkles shone in his eyes and everything. It was like watching an anime character react to being told their crush totally liked them. You could practically see the fantasy in his head. 

“OF COURSE! I ONLY PROVIDE THE BEST OF SPAGHETTI, AGED IN A FINE OAKEN CASKET AND COVERED WITH ONLY THE FINEST OF SAUCES!” he proclaimed, pointing at the ceiling matter-of-factly. “WE SHALL MAKE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI IN CELEBRATION OF MY BROTHER’S VICTORY AND YOUR STAY UNTIL UNDYNE SHOWS UP!” Undyne? Who was Undyne? Sans seemed to laugh it off, so you did too. He wouldn’t let anything happen to you, he’d already saved you. 

“Is Undyne nice?” you asked Papyrus. He looked away from you and started to sweat a little bit. Sans stared at his brother for an extensive period of time before sitting down on your bed like before. It comforted you a little bit to know he was there for you. “Papyrus?” 

“Y-YES! SHE IS VERY NICE! JUST NOT NECESSARILY TOWARDS HUMANS! I’M SURE YOU’LL BECOME GREAT FRIENDS THOUGH, YOU REMIND ME OF HER! JUST LESS…MUSCLELY,” he wrung his hands nervously. _Not necessarily towards humans._ Maybe you could pull off a Monsters Inc. and dress like a monster to fool her until she left. For a lifetime. 

“So let me get this straight. She doesn’t like humans, but you think she’ll like me? Isn’t this one of those bad ideas?” you scoffed. He clearly had good intentions, but it was a seriously bad idea. “Did you already tell her?” He at least had the decency to look a little ashamed of himself. 

“I DO BELIEVE IT IS A BAD IDEA! A TERRIBLE IDEA! BUT GOOD THINGS CAN COME FROM TERRIBLE IDEAS. MIGHT I REMIND YOU THAT WE CAME OUT OF YOUR FALLING FROM MT. EBOTT’S SURFACE!” he cackled endearingly. “OR THE FACT THAT WE MET BECAUSE MY BROTHER CAPTURED YOU!” He had a point. Maybe you should give this Undyne a chance. If things went to shit you had a seven foot and a roughly five-five skeleton to protect you. That was like eleven and a half feet. Nobody could beat that down, not even someone that was a total badass. Plus these guys had both brawn and brains. You had to have faith that you had friends down here that could handle themselves. You looked to Sans for help. You were scared of meeting someone that wouldn’t like you off the bat. He returned your glance with sympathy. 

“why don’t we wait a little bit on undyne, pap? ‘sides, i’ve got your phone anyways,” he said, dangling it away from his brother’s angry grabs. “i think it’s time for you to _phone_ it in and go start on the spaghetti, alright?” Papyrus shrieked at the pun and stomped out of the room, yelling something about him only holding off for the sake of your health. 

“Thanks Sans,” you threw your arms around him in relief. He stiffened in shock. You started to move away when he returned the hug, placing his arms over where he knew you wouldn’t be hurt if he squeezed. He was so warm that he penetrated the layers you wore between the two of you. Unconsciously you slid out from the covers to get closer to him. He was like an electric blanket on high. It felt nice on your bruises. 

“heh, you must like hugs as much as pap,” he said into your ear. You didn’t know what he was doing to you but you liked the feeling. It was a nice change from being afraid. “you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. he just likes having all of his friends be friends. if you’re ever uncomfortable just tell him. he’ll understand.” You buried your face in his dark turtleneck and he held you closer. Not wanting to be weirdly clingy, you let him go. The moment hung heavy while he held you a split second longer. 

“I just get nervous, you know? I’m afraid to tell you all what I think because…” you trailed off, trying to find the right words without being an asshole. “…because I’m afraid that I’ll get hurt more. The first two monsters I met both ‘taught’ me what they thought the Underground is like. I keep gauging how much bigger you all are than me and how I can’t fight. I’m useless down here.” Sans nodded and yawned. 

“well it’s good that you’re not too use _full_ of yourself,” he threw you a wink, making you laugh halfheartedly. “hey,” he said, grabbing your chin lightly. “look at me. no, not at the treadmill, the treadmill only helps you notice the amount of weight you haven’t lost.” You met his eyes ruefully. You didn’t want him to see you so weak. “pap and i are going to take good care of you, okay? we’re not going to hurt you, as much as that fucking weed wants you to think we will.” He let you go once he was done talking. You wanted his warmth again, but you didn’t want to make it weird. “you gonna be okay up here tonight?” 

“I thought maybe I could sleep on the couch and you could sleep in your proper bed. I feel bad stealing it from you,” you shrugged embarrassedly. He shook his head, smiling. 

“i wouldn’t have offered if i didn’t want to see you in it,” he smirked softly, wiggling his brow bones at you. You felt the heat rise up in your cheeks and saw his start to go blue. “but seriously, are you gonna be okay in here? i could bring you more blankets,” he offered. 

“Actually, could you? I get cold really easy,” you said. “If you can’t find any though that’s cool. I don’t want you getting cold either.” He got up off the bed and disappeared. You blinked slowly, not believing what had just happened. He carried you up the stairs when he could…when he could teleport? You were thoroughly confused. “Sans, what the hell did you just do?”

“magic,” you heard him call from downstairs. You could hear the unbridled mirth in his voice even behind a closed door a floor away from him. Wow, was he something. You stared at the door, hard, and then a voice right in your ear. “heya.” You jumped ten feet in the air, sucking in much more air than necessary. 

“Sans! You-!” you cuffed him in the shoulder and he dropped to the floor with a sickening thud. He closed his eyes and started bleeding. “Ohmygodohmygodohmygodi’msosorry!” you panicked, putting your feet on the floor and clenching your jaw from the shock of your still swollen ankle. You were forced to sit back down. “PAPYRUS!” you called, and immediately heard loud thumping noises as he bounded up the stairs. 

“HUMAN, IS EVERYTHING -? OH MY GOD, SANS. THAT IS ENOUGH OF YOUR SHENANIGANS,” he scolded. “THE HUMAN BELIEVED SHE HAD HURT YOU.” Sans got up laughing, showing the ketchup packet he was sporting in his hand, the slick bastard. 

“gotcha,” he grinned slyly. He had you and he knew it. “it got one of my other friends real good once. they didn’t like it either, but it sure did get their mind off of whatever they were mopin’ about.” Fair point, but it still wasn’t funny.  
“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SOMETIMES!” Papyrus threw his arms up in the air. “YOU WILL NOW ASSIST ME IN MAKING SPAGHETTI AS PUNISHMENT! THE HOSPITALITY OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS CANNOT BE QUESTIONED! NYEH HEH HEH!” He waited impatiently at the door for Sans to follow. As he walked by he shot you a finger gun. It was too stupid not to return, making the lights in his eyes shine a little brighter. He closed the door behind him, telling you he’d see you at dinner. You'd have to ask him more about that whole teleportation thing then, because that was the coolest thing you'd seen down here yet. 

**********************

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust you, it was that you’d caught him so off guard. As he rapid-fire fixed all of Papyrus’s mistakes, he thought about you. You were unexpectedly soft. You were still blushing when the two of you were in the lab, even though he had seen you. In a professional manner, of course. He was meticulous about respecting your privacy where he could. 

You were so kind to him, even when you were afraid. You could’ve lashed out, but no. You were a meek person, but that was probably because you were hurt the very moment you got down here. Talk about injured pride, he chortled inwardly. Stirring the pot full of noodles over the correct amount of heat, (“no, pap, you’ll burn the house down at that rate.”) he pondered this. Flowey had nearly destroyed you, but you didn’t seem keen on killing them all like Chara had. You mentioned you couldn’t remember a thing about your past, but your memory of other things remained intact. It was like it was a selective memory loss from something terrible happening. A normal hemorrhaging would’ve wiped out entire sections, and you just couldn’t remember a select few things. Papyrus added sprinkles to the sauce. (“FOR COLOR, BROTHER!”) He had to let him have _some_ fun. 

It was enough for him. He could trust you. He didn’t see anything about you that screamed psychopath. That was good, because he had a moment of clarity when you put your arms around him. He’d be damned if he wasn’t going to make you the best friendship spaghetti you’d ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, Sans is finally catching on to something! (Well, hopefully at least. He is a pretty big dork.) Papyrus is such a fun character to write, I plan on doing a lot with his character. This chapter's song is "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys - I'm using it in more of a tension way. Go check it out! Enjoy the chapter, there will be more when I get back from Traverse City! As always, let me know what you think!


	7. All Fired Up

Sans left open the door so you could hear the ruckus going on downstairs. That was way too much fun to be actually making spaghetti. You sighed, wishing you could be down there with them. It was lonely up here, no matter how much you loved burying your face in your newfound jacket. As if some gracious god had read your mind, footsteps came bounding up the stairs. 

“HUMAN! SANS AND I HAVE PREPARED YOU THE CELEBRATORY FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!” He set down a TV tray with a smiley face in front of you, followed by a plate of something indescribable. There was clearly spaghetti beneath the sauce, but there was glitter and sprinkles mixed in it. You twirled your fork in it bravely, downing a bite of it. It wasn’t awful, but maybe that was because it you were starving. It turns out the sauce wasn’t tomato sauce, it was ketchup. Papyrus looked at you eagerly, awaiting your response. 

“Papyrus, this is the best! You’re a really great cook!” you smiled at him. Even though it was getting worse with every bite, he cared enough to try. What a good guy. You’d have to teach him some things when you could get up. Just then, Sans popped into existence right to you, shifting the bed a little. 

“aw pap, you let her eat without me?” he said in mock distress. Papyrus wrung his hands together and looked down, guilt overtaking his entire form. Sans set a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his reverie. 

“IF YOU WEREN’T SUCH A LAZYBONES, WE WOULD’VE EATEN WITH YOU!” he said in exasperation. Sans pouted so well that even you felt a little bad for him. “BROTHER, I AM SORRY FOR NOT BEING PATIENT. I WILL BEGIN PREPARING THE APOLOGY SPAGHETTI,” he said, wrapping Sans up in a hug. Sans was so lucky to have a brother, or anyone that would hug him. Would anyone be on the surface to hug you? Did anyone even care that you were gone? _Nobody cares that you’re gone anymore,_ a voice whispered in the back of your mind. _They stopped caring a long time ago._

“ok pap. you better spagetti out of here then,” he laughed, returning the hug. The larger skeleton looked like he wanted to say something but cut himself off. “don’t worry bro. you’re still the coolest skeleton out there.” Papyrus turned a little orange, instantly triggering thoughts of how much cuter it’d be if he were cuddling baby bunnies. You didn’t even know skeletons could blush. You immediately thought back to Sans leaning over you on the table. You noted that for later. The two brothers continued talking until Papyrus had left and Sans closed the door behind him, snapping you out of your reverie. 

“sorry you had to eat that. i tried to fix what i could, but in the end i just couldn’t stop everything. plus i bet that expression on your face was priceless,” he chortled, placing a hand over his eyes. You rolled your eyes, not wanting to let on that it was literally still leaving a gross aftertaste in your mouth. 

“I don’t wanna hurt his feelings! Plus that’s rude, you guys made it for me,” you shrugged. “It’s more than I can say I’ve done for you.” He bumped your shoulder with his own. It was warm and softer than you’d expected a skeleton to be. 

“pal. forgeddaboudit. ‘sides, i brought you some food. pap’s food doesn’t count – let this be the first time ya try monster food,” he said, slipping into a serious New Yorker accent. You raised your eyebrows in confusion. “sorry, let my voice slip for a sec there.” 

“What do you mean?” You asked, reaching into the bag he held out for you. You pulled out a hamburger and some fries. For some reason you’d expected they’d actually be eating…well…monster food. Sans made it sound as different as Greek and Chinese foods. He actually got you to believe they were drinking mana potions as sustenance or something! 

“i’m a comedian in a few joints around town. i used to watch an old monster comedian when i was younger, got me interested,” he replied, shrugging. They had television down here too? This place really was magical (not that a walking, talking skeleton could’ve proven how it was by now.)

“Wow, I know you mentioned movies, but I didn’t think you had TV down here!” you said excitedly. Sans chuckled, that deep rumbling in his chest making you laugh too. “Did he have an accent like that, or is that just your own design?” 

“yeah, actually, he did have that accent. maybe he found the old tapes the king has in his basement. he went nuts over watching human movies with asgore after we figured out what the hell was being dropped down here by humans,” he shrugged. “doesn’t really matter though, does it?” His tone was carefully neutral as his eyes darkened for a fraction of a second. You doubted you even would’ve noticed had you not been so close to him. You blinked and his eyes returned to their normal hue. Did you imagine him being upset then? 

“It matters to me,” you smiled faintly. You needed a distraction from the void that was slowly opening up in your chest. “It’s nice to hear about movies and shows again.” You shifted under the comforter, wincing a bit at the stiffness and soreness of your entire being. “I really miss being able to watch things like Jurassic Park and Doctor Who.” 

“so how much exactly do you remember then?” Curiosity burned in those white pupils of his. “i know it’s early to be askin’ these things, but you gotta try and list what you know. it helps us move forward.”

“Stupid things, like music and movies. I thought it was all gone until I talked with you and Papyrus.” You shook your head. It ached thinking about who you were and how you got here. It left you feeling nothing but emptiness. The world misted around the edges; embarrassed, you hid your face in the hoodie. It was warm and inviting, but not as warm or as inviting as the sleep that was soon to come. Sans put a hand on your shoulder gently. He was touching you as if he was afraid that he’d shatter you. “Thank you so much, but I don’t even think it’s possible to get those memories back.” As you said it, the tears started to fall. _Nobody is waiting. Nobody is watching. Nobody is hoping. They haven’t even sent a search party for you._

Sans could do nothing but watch. He knew this pain all too well. That feeling of struggling to grip memories only to have them slither away into the darkness. Of course he couldn’t say that to you though, you’d never understand what he’s been through, is going through. Sighing and pushing those demons down as hard as he could, he wrapped his arms around you again. You hugged him back, drawn to the comforting warmth. 

****************

He held you until you stopped crying and fell asleep. Laying you down carefully, he pondered what everyone else would’ve done in the same situation. Pap would stay in bed with you. Tori would’ve left you only to make pie for you to wake up to. Undyne would played music in the next room to lull you to sweeter dreams. Alphys would pull up a chair to the bed and watch anime on her phone, willing to talk all night. But he left. He popped out of existence into the snow outside. Right now he couldn’t make head or tails of what to even start on. Thoughtlessly he wandered into his usual haunt, watching aimlessly as his old friend’s name flashed brightly with neon. 

“grillbz,” Sans called out. “grillbz i know you’re closed but i’m not here for that.” Warmth rushed into the room as a fire elemental wearing a bartender’s outfit walked out of a bright door. Grillby looked Sans up and down, fixing his glasses in what could be interpreted as concern or irritation. “grillbz, i found a human. she’s really _fired up_ over falling down here.” Grillby flared up at the pun, laughing thinly. 

“So your problem is that you care for someone?” Grillby’s voice crackled like branches being consumed in a blaze. 

“no, my problem’s that she’s lost her memories.” Sans tapped his phalanges on the bar counter. “i don’t know how to help her. she looks like she wants to die.” Grillby pulled out a glass and started polishing it thoughtfully. 

“That’s not your problem and you know it.” The glass squeaked in the silence between the two monsters. “You won’t allow yourself to care past the immediate.” Grillby closed his eyes and set down his now clean glass. 

“i think i’m looking into the future,” Sans frowned. “i’m helping her talk about things, ya know? i held her until she cried herself to sleep. is that nothin’?” He pulled at the constricting neck on his shirt. “am i not cut out for this? i can barely give advice to a short little kiddo!” He could his anxiety crawling up his back. 

“It isn’t nothing, Sans. You clearly…care for her,” he stated carefully. “Don’t worry about this immediate issue. It will resolve itself.” Sans could almost feel his jaw hit the floor, his sockets open in shock. 

“how do you expect me to do that?” Sans demanded, anger building up. “how could i have ever expected you to understand?” Grillby shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose with thin hands. By the time he opened his eyes again, Sans had left.


End file.
